Bon Air Fire Company says Haverford Township was wrong to shut them down after volunteer attended Proud Boys meetings

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Bon Air Fire Company says Haverford Township was wrong to shut them down after volunteer attended Proud Boys meetings

Fire company says Haverford Twp. was wrong to shut them down. John Rawlins reports during Action News at 6pm on September 5, 2019.

Thursday, September 5, 2019 7:44PMHAVERFORD TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A Delaware County fire company says their township was wrong in shutting them down after they refused to terminate a volunteer firefighter who had attended meetings of a controversial organization.

Township officials learned last month that a volunteer fireman with the Bon Air Fire Company in Haverford Township tried to join the Proud Boys, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has recognized as a hate group.

The Bon Air Fire Company issued a statement on Thursday in response to the township's actions.

Bon Air Fire Company shut down as reported by George Solis during Action News at 11 on September 4, 2019.

"In closing the Fire Company, the Township failed to identify a single instance in which that volunteer's services to the Haverford community were negatively influenced in any way by his brief association with the outside organization," the statement read.

The fire company said they conducted their own investigation once they found out about the volunteer's interactions with the organization. They said it was a difficult process that required much introspection.

The fire company said they were treating the volunteer as they would any other Haverford Township citizen - "fairly and equally."

They said the investigation revealed that "the volunteer is not now, nor ever was, a member of the outside organization."

"Some of the bedrock rights we all share as American citizens are the rights to freely assemble and to freely associate with others. Unfortunately, our beliefs in those constitutional rights are sometimes tested when the groups in question espouse beliefs in which we do not agree," the statement said.

"The Proud Boys have been associated with Charlottesville...Going through initiation with the Proud Boys, associating yourself with the Proud Boys that is disqualifying in Haverford Township, if you're going to have a Haverford Township uniform on," Holmes said.

According to the Bon Air Fire Company's statement, the volunteer attended some social gatherings with the Proud Boys, but once he learned more about their beliefs he stopped his interactions with them. They said he never attended any rallies or protests and disassociated himself with the group more than a year ago.

"He has broken no law and committed no crime," the statement read.

The fire company said the volunteer never made any statements or posted any social media messages in support of the group or "which reflect poorly on his ability to faithfully carry out the duties of his position to the Haverford Community."

The Bon Air Fire Company said he has always acted as a caring and dedicated person. They said he has been known to the Board of the Bon Air Fire Company for more than six years and recently was honored.

Fire service for Bon Air will be provided by four other companies in Haverford Township: Brookline Llanerch, Manoa and Oakmont.

"The Township's decision to close the Fire Company is wrong and harmful to the community. As a result of its decision, there are now 37 fewer well trained active crew members available to fight fires in our community and three fewer fire trucks available to be dispatched to alarms," the statement said.

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Not where I breathe, but where I love, I live...
Robert Southwell, S.J.

What matters about fire fighting is physical strength and stamina, the ability to run toward instead of away from obvious danger, reliability, and the ability to follow specific procedures for everything from rescues to equipment maintenance.

Do I care if you worship Satan in your own backyard, visit pornhub, vote for Democrats, or read 'Mein Kampf' before bed? Nope, I sure don't if you are doing the entire fire fighting thing professionally and successfully.

I hate this call-out culture. It's poisonous. The Victorians at their most absurd were never this absurd and their version of this seldom affected working class people this hard.

Your private life is your private life even if you perform a real public service. If whatever that involves does not involve me, I don't care. If I find out that you are a furry or seriously study UFO anal probing incidents, I may not invite you to a Christmas party (or I might) but if those interests don't spill over into your public service life, I don't care. I know plenty of people in science and academics who have lunatic associations but they can perform their functions despite that.

Tolerance extends to divergent ideas and it means enduring or ignoring stuff you do not agree with that doesn't impact you. I doubt this guy would refuse to go out on a call if the home owner or injured person held different political/social beliefs.